Medical insurance for visitors to USA from India cost

1. Common US Healthcare travel insurance terms

Deductible is the amount that insured Indian tourists need to pay for coverage before the travel insurance actually starts to pay for the healthcare services. The Deductible has to be paid along with the co-pay or coinsurance. Indians visitors need to pay the medical fees up to the amount of deductible and along with coinsurance and co-pay.

For example if the deductible amount is $500 then the travelers need to pay up to $500, it is only after this amount is paid that the insurance plan stays paying. The Deductible is introduced to prevent frivolous claims.

Coinsurance is similar to co-pay in domestic US health insurance. Here the insured needs to pay a percentage of the total cost of the medical fee instead of paying a fixed amount. If you have 10% of coinsurance that the insured will have to pay 10% of the total cost of the bill .Co-insurance is paid on top of the Deductible. Typical Co-insurance ranges from 10% to 20%. The higher the co-insurance, the lower will be the cost of travel insurance.

Travelers from India can review the insurance glossary for travel to the USA to understand other terms and also check our US travel insurance guide for easy understanding.

Riders – Riders are additional benefits that a traveler can purchase within the insurance policy. These are benefits that are usually not covered under the standard insurance policy. Depending on the need of the traveler, customers can add rider benefits at an additional cost while buying the policy.

Copay or copayment is the fixed amount that the insured will have to pay for the medical service availed. The amounts would usually differ depending on the service availed.

Network and Out of Network - In US most hospitals have PPO networks .In the PPO network there are selected doctors and hospitals that have a working agreement with the insurance providers who charge the insurance provider directly and work out cheaper for Indian travelers. If the insurance provider is in the network they will provide a list of in network facilities so that the insured finds it easy to use the provider who can offer services.

Out of network insurance is literally when the customer goes to a healthcare facility outside of the covered network provider. In this situation, the insured will have to pay for the treatment themselves and then file a claim, this process might be confusing and sometimes out of network doctors and hospitals are more expensive and may even not be covered.

2. Pre-existing Conditions Coverage

Pre-existing condition is a medical ailment that existed before the start of the travel insurance cover. Acute onset of a pre-existing condition is a sudden relapse of the pre-existing condition without advance warning which requires medical attention within 24 hours.

Travelers from India with pre-existing conditions always find it hard to buy travel health insurance. There are various conditions that are considered as pre-existing diseases but some of common ailments in this category are Asthma, heart related issues, high blood pressure, kidney disease, cancer, diabetes etc. Typically all insurance providers have their terms and conditions for the pre-existing condition coverage provided. Indian Travelers can buy a travel insurance policy without a medical check, however most insurance providers only provide coverage for acute onset of pre-existing conditions. With the pre-existing condition there is a "look back" period of 60-180 days to determine the claim. Most insurance providers offer travel insurance for acute onset of pre-existing conditions with fixed or limited coverage

If any of the Indian visitors has one of these conditions it’s very important for them to buy a policy that includes the illnesses in the coverage and to be aware of the terms of pre-existing condition coverage.

3. Affordable visitor travel insurance for US visitors from India above 70 years of age

Senior Citizens who are 70 years of age are vulnerable to illness and are at high risk for travel sickness and injuries. While most insurance providers refuse or severely reduce coverage for travelers who are 70 years, there are a US insurance providers who insure older traveler’s . IMG in their Patriot America Plus Insurance offers coverage for up to $50,000 - $1000, 000 and World Trips in their Atlas America Insurance offers $50,000 - $2,000,000 coverage.

4. Pre-approvals for medical treatment and Hospital Visits

Pre-approval commonly known as pre-authorization is a sanction provided by the insurance provider to obtain the medical treatment and hospital visits. The healthcare service workers like network providers, hospitals or doctor’s offices often choose to inform the insurance provider and get a pre-approval. In a case where the insured is using an out-network provider the insured will need to notify the insurance provider to get pre approval or pay and then apply for a reimbursement.

In situations like an admission at the hospital for overnight stay, Major Surgery, Prescription of expensive drugs, Medical appointment to a behavioural, physical, speech or occupational therapist for treatment all of this would typically require pre-approvals from the insurance provider.

5. Renewability and Deductible in an extended /renewed Travel insurance

Not all travel insurance plans are renewable, so check on the renewability of the travel insurance plan. Most travel insurance plans can be extended based on the traveler’s requirement. When the policy is extended, the deductible is usually reset.

6. Multi-trip travel insurance.

Regular or frequent travelers visiting the US can buy the annual multi-trip travel insurance plan. Here the traveler is insured for a whole year from the start of the plan, but each trip is limited to a certain length of stay outside the home country and are required to have a domestic health insurance.